housands of raptors such
as eagles, owls, and hawks
are injured each year from
accidentally ingesting fishing line.
Small monofilament line scraps end
up in waterways. They then become
tangled in fish and other small
animals, which are then eaten by the
birds. Dardanelle High School EAST
students Tyler Turnbow, Chase
Hickey, and Kayla Miller spent the
last year helping these birds of prey
avoid harm.

Soon after, the team began to
brainstorm ways to help the
raptors, and by January 2018, the
Save the Raptors project was in full
swing. A plan was made to build
monofilament recycling bins to
collect used fishing line and tackle.
A partnership with the Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission
(AGFC) helped the students fund
the construction of these bins.
“My favorite part of this project
was actually assembling the bins.
I love to be hands-on and it was a
really neat experience,” said Kayla.
The students researched how to
build the bins from several online
sites and finally settled on a design
made from PVC pipe and elbows.
After working together for a week,
the team produced nine collection
bins, which Kayla, Chase, and Tyler
agreed was one of the best parts of
the whole project.
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EAST QUARTERLY | www.EASTinitiative.org

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Last fall, the students began learning
about eagle behavior by remotely
observing them in the nest. Eagle
cams in Washington, DC, northeast
Florida, southwest Florida, Big Bear
Lake in California and the Upper
Mississippi River Refuge revealed
food being brought to the nest
entangled with fishing line.

I have seen that more
people use the bins
than what I thought
would. People might
throw trash and
other things in there
but at least they
aren’t throwing it
in the water to harm
wildlife.